International

Evening Bags

The Alexander McQueen Iris Skull Clutch is one of those bags that needs to be seen in the largest photo possible at all times; at a distance, you might mistake the detailed embroidery for printed fabric, and that would be a tragedy indeed.

If brevity is the soul of wit, what’s the soul of fashion? I like maximalism as much as anyone (in fact, probably far more than most people), but the grandiosity of it can feel exhausting from time to time. The trends toward layering textures, colors and prints are some of my favorite fads in years, but that doesn’t mean I can’t look at the Valentino Satin Bow Box Clutch and think that it seems positively refreshing by comparison.

I know that we’re all supposed to put on a happy face, sing holiday songs and pretend like we just love dealing with our various and assorted sociopathic family members this time of year, but let’s face it – Christmas is often as stressful as it is exciting.

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the US and the ceremonious eating of the turkey has become an unofficial start to the Christmas season (no matter what stores wanted us to believe by putting up their decorations weeks ago, I’m still going with Thanksgiving), now’s a great time to discuss holiday wardrobe.

There are plenty of designers whose entrance to the wedding-bag market might seem counterintuitive: Rick Owens, Maison Martin Margiela, Commes des Garcon. (Although I’d personally love to see what all of those companies would do with the genre.) Judith Leiber? That company definitely not among them.

It’s not every day that I wake up and find photos of bags like the Lulu Guinness Fan Clutches waiting to greet me in my inbox, but every now and then, I get lucky and beautiful bags just appear. Yesterday was one of those days, and to make the whole thing even better, these clutches are here for a good cause.

Looking at the Bottega Veneta Snakeskin and Papier Elongated Knot Clutch makes it exceptionally clear to me why I’m a writer instead of a designer. Not only would I have never thought to combine purple-navy snakeskin and metallic green foil on a single clutch, but if someone had suggested it to me, I probably would have told them to think harder and come up with a better idea.

Sure, alligator or crocodile versions of the highly collectable Bottega Veneta Knot Clutches might be enough to satisfty the luxury lust for some people, but for those who want something a bit more unique, the Bottega Veneta Sterling Silver Knot Clutch is just the ticket.

It’s not often that a bag review requires me to gather my personal technology and a ruler, but the Christian Louboutin Eden Pompom Clutch is clearly a special little bag. Whether you take that to mean special! or “special” is, of course, up to you.

If you haven’t realized that leopard print is a huge and soon-to-be omnipresent trend for fall, you haven’t been paying very close attention. In fact, we discussed the impending importance of leopard bags just last month.

As with all things, though, bedazzler to the stars Judith Leiber is here to take the trend to its absurdly literal extreme.